CEO & Director of Harbour Energy Picks Up 1.0% More Stock

Potential Harbour Energy plc (LON:HBR) shareholders may wish to note that the CEO & Director, Linda Cook, recently bought UK£246k worth of stock, paying UK£2.85 for each share. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 1.0%, it is still a solid purchase in our view.

View our latest analysis for Harbour Energy

Harbour Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Linda Cook is the biggest insider purchase of Harbour Energy shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is UK£2.93. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. The good news for Harbour Energy share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price. Notably Linda Cook was also the biggest seller.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£274k for 96.05k shares. But insiders sold 6.35k shares worth UK£16k. Overall, Harbour Energy insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does Harbour Energy Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.1% of Harbour Energy shares, worth about UK£26m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Harbour Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Harbour Energy we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example - Harbour Energy has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But note: Harbour Energy may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.